Automatic trip mechanism for printing-presses.



A. J. FORD. AUTOMATIC TRIP MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES. APPLICATION FILED FBB.4,190'9.

1,034,776. Patented Aug. 6,1912.

3 SHEBTSSHEET 1v lnveniazi" A. J. r0111). 1 AUTOMATIG TRIP MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PBESSES. AP PLI0AT 10N FILED MBA, 1909.

.1 34 77 Patented Aug. 6,1912.

' s SHEETSAHEET 2.

lVz'inesae's': v 55 5 7 A,- er. F031). AUTOMATIC TRIP. MECHANISM PO R PRINTING BRESSES. APPLICATION FILBDIIIEB. 4, 1909 1,034,776. v Patented Aug. 6,1912.

3 SHEBTS- SHEETB.

-* UNITED STAT S- O F ALBERT 3. FORD, OF YORK, N. Y., -ASSIGNOR TO THE FUCHS & LANG WAC TUBING COMPANY, A CORIORATION OFJTEW YORK.

au'rom'rrc 'rnrr MECHANISM ron rmiv'r ma-rnnssns.

, -Patei1t ed Aug.6, 1912.

Application filed February 4, 1909. Serial No. 415,952.

To all uih'om it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT J. FORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, city of New York,

following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

Iy invention relates to a device for automatically tripping a printing press or throwing its printing couple out of operation in case of the absence of a sheetat the time when, in the normal operation of the press, a sheet is fed to the printing couple to receive the impression.

-The invention is applicable, in some respects, to printing presses of various forms, but is particularly designed for use in connection with presseshaving rotary impression cylinders and operating upon sheets of tin plate or'other stiff material.

Generally stated, the-object of my invention is to produce a device of the kind above described which shall be simple in construction and reliable in operation, and to this end the invention consists in the automatic trip mechanism hereinafter described, as defined in-the succeeding claims.

f More specific objects of the invention and the features of construction by which they are attained will be pointed out in connection with the following description of the illustrated embodiment of the invention.

I will now describe the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will thereafter point out my invention in claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a printing press 1llus-' I trat-ing atrip mechanism embodying the i so present invention. Fig. 2 is an end'view of the trip mechanism. Fig. 3 is a detail view, partly in section, of the impression cylinder and adjacent portions of the trip mechanism.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a rotarylithographic (press provided with a transfer cylinder 1 an an impression cylmder 2, these cylinders constituting the printing couple of'the press. The cylinders rotate o'n shafts 3 and f, which are journaled in-- the-usual manner in the frame of the press. During the normal operation of the press the cylinders rotate in engagement with each other so thatimpressions are formed by the transfer cylinder upon the sheets fed between the cylinders. Asis customary. in. presses of this kind, however, means are provided for throwing the cylinders out of operative engagement with each other to prevent offset-ting upon the impres sion'cylinder when the-press rot-ates without any sheet between. the cylinders.

The cylinders'are thrown out ment by moving the axis of the transfer cylinder away from the axis of the impression cylinder, and for this purpose the shaft 3 has hearings in eccentrics 5 which may be rotated in the frame of the press. The eccentrics are cont-rolled primarily by hand leof engagevers 6, which are fixed to the ends of a rock shaft7. The levers 6 are connected at their upper ends by links. 8- with upwardly-extending arms 9 on the eccentrics 5, so that theeccentrics maybe partially rotated by .means of either hand lever.. In Fig. 1 the throw-out mechanism is illustrated in such position that the transfer cylinder has been moved out of engagement with the impression cylinder. To throw it into engagement again the hand lever 6 is swung to the right. This causes the eccentrics to rotate'to the left and the axis 3 is moved slightly in a nearly horizontal direction from left to right, and the cylinders are engaged.-

The movements of the hand levers are limited by two stop screws 63 and '64 on the frame of the press, and the stop-screw 63 is adjusted to permit the hand levers to be moved to a position in which the levers 6 and the links 8 are nearly in a straight line but slightly beyond dead-center position, so

that the thrust of the links 8 tends to mainin engagement.

The throw-out mechanism, apart from certain automatic features peculiar to the present invention, is constructed 1n accordance with my invention disclosedin Letters.

Patent of the United States Number 913,119,

issued February 23, 1909. This mechanism is arranged to throw out the printing couple by power derived fromthe mechanism of the press in timed relation with the operations of the printing couple, so as to act after the co'mpletion of one impression and 'beforethe commencement of another.

The throw-out mechanism acts through the mechanism abovedescribed for moving .the eccentrics .5, and for-this purpose one of the hand levers 6 is provided with an arm 10 connected with the upper end offa link 11. The lower end of the link is pivoted to inder by a segment 14, which is fixed to'the rock-shaft 13. This segment has acurved frictionsurface adapted to engage the p'e-.

riphery of the cylinder pear one end thereof,

'and when this engagementoccurs the cylin-' der, by its rotation in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1-,-swingsl the segment to the' right, as in the drawing, thereby rotating the rock-shaft 13 and depressing thearm 12.

' This causes the linkll to pull, the hand leter 6 into its left-handlpositioii so as to throw out the transfer cylinder.

In the normalv operation of the press, the

1 segment 14 is out of engagement with the cylinder and is in its Left-hand position. Its operation. is controlled by raising' it into engagement with the cylinder at the proper moment, and for this purpose the rock-shaft 13 upon which it 'is inountedis journaled in a movable support. This support has the form of a bell-crank lever 15, which is pivoted on a stud 16 on'the framelof the pres's.

A spring 17 attached to the lever 15 acts normally to swing it 'to the'right, so as .to lower the shaft 13 sufiiciently to-disengage the segment from the cylinder.

The mechanism for moving thesegment into operative position comprises an arm 18.

on the bell cranli-lev'er 15. This arm carries a pivoted. guide 19, through which a rod 20 passes loosely. This rod is connected with; a treadle lever 21, which is pivoted at22 to the frame. of the pres s. A compress on spring 23 connects theguide 19'. with nuts 24:

on the upper end of the rod 20.

\Vhen the treadle, lever 21 is depressed, the spring 23' is compressed and it tends to depress "the arm 18 and throw the segment 14 into operation. Inorder that this operation may occur at the proper time, however, the movement-of the bell-crank lever 15 is controlled'by a cam mechanism. The lever 15.

has an arm 25 carrying a cam -roll 26, which is adapted to engage a cam 27 mounted on shaft 28.. The shaft 28 and the cam are rotated constantly by suitable gearing connected with the mechanism of the press in timed relation with the operations of the printing couple. By means of a suitable depression in the cam, the cam roll is permitted todrop at the proper moment, soas to release'the bell-crank lever 15 and permit it to be moved under the influence of the spring 23' to throw the segment 14 into engagement with the impression cylinder.

' In the construction disclizsed in the application above. referred to the treadle lever is depressed by the operator of the press to se- 'cure theresults above described, but in the present-invention I provide a trip mechanism which performs this operation automatically whenever there is failure on the partof the operator'or of the feeding devices to supply a sheet atvthe proper time to rcceive'the impression.

The impression cylinder. 2 is provided with grippers 38 of ordinary construct-ion, and these grippers seize the forward edge of the sheet 39, which is fed froma feed table fil in anyordinary or suitable. manner. T he operation of the trip mechanism is, conthe sheet near 'its forward edge. As shown in the drawings. a feeler 42 is mounted .on a rock-shaft let which is journaled longitudinally within the impression cylinder. This feeler has an angular extremity which occupies arecess 43 in the cylinder at one side of one of the grippers 38, so that when a sheet'is held by the grippers the feeler. may engage the forward margin of the sheet.-

The eeler is actuated by an arm 1L5, which is fixed to the rock shaft at the end of the impression cylinder. This ar m carries a cam roll 47 engaging a cam 48, which is fixed to the frameof the machine and surrounds the shaft 4. A tension springlfi is ,fixed atone end to the arm 45 and at -the tends constantly to move the arm 45to the left (in Fig. so as to maintain the cam roll in engagement with the cam. As the impression cylinder rota'tes, carrying the rock-shaft and the arm .45 with 'it, the cam roll traverses the cam. The greater part of the cam is circular, and while the roll. trav' erses this circular part, the mechanism occu- "pies the position of Fig. 3, in which the feeler 4 2 is loweredbelow the position occupied by the sheet 39. At. one point, however, the cam has a short deprcssion 1-9, and when the cam roll reaches this point. the spring iG'tends to pull the arm 4-5 to the left and thereby to turn the rock-shaftand to elevate the feeler to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. In the presence of a sheet,"however, the feeler is arrested by its engagement with the'sheet, so that the arm &5 cannotbe'moved to the left.

In ,order that the trip mechanism may actuate the throw-out mechanism, the arm 45 is provided with a trip 51 adapted to engage :1. lug on the inner side of a slide 53. The slide is mounted to slide longitudinally in guides 51 in. a frame-member 55 which is secured to the ordinary frame of the press. The slideis pivoted to one arm 56 of a bell crank lever which is pivoted. on the frame member 55. .Theother. arm 57 of the pending arm 59, which is fixed to a rockother end to a fixed pin (33, and this spring.

lever is connected by a link 58 with a detrolled by one ormore feelers which engage shaft 61. The ,.-rock-sha-ft-is journaleo. on the frame-of the press and it carries a detent 36 on its outer end. This detent acts normally to hold the throw-out mechanism out 5 of operation. A. spring 62 connected with v the lever'a-rm 57 tends normally to hold the parts in the position of the drawings, with the'slide53 depressed and the detent in o'perative position. v

The means for depressing the treadle lever to operate the throw-out mechanism comprise a rod- 31, which is pivoted at its I lower end to the treadle lever and. at its upper end to a block 32 fixed to a slide rod 33. The slide rod moves vertically in lugs 34: on the frame of the press, and 'a powerful tension spring 37, which is attached to the lower end of the slide rod, tends to depress the slide, the rod 31 and the treadle lever. This downward movement is normally prevented, however, by the detent 36 above described, whichengages a lug on the slide rod when the latter is in its normal raised position.

-Theoperation of the apparatus as a whole occurs as follows: With the parts in normal position, suppose the operator fails to supply a sheet to the printing couple at the moment when the grippers are in position 30 to receive it. Immediately after the closing of the grippers the cam roll 47 of the trip mechanism enters the depression on the cam 48, and as the feelers are not arranged by a sheet,"the arm swings momentarily to-the left at thetime when the trip 51 and the lug 52 are in position to engage each other. The trip 51, therefore, engages the lug momentarily and,'owi ng to its rotation with the impression cylinder,'it raises the lug and the 40 slide 53. Through the connections above described'the detent 36 is thus moved momentarily to the left, so as to release the slide rod 33, and the spring 37 and rod 31 act to depress the treadle lever and throw the throw-out mechanism into operation. These operations all occur nearly simultaneously, so that the transfer cylinder 1 is thrown out before the impression surface of the impression cylinder reaches the transfer cylinder, and thus the offsetting of an impression on the bare impression cylinder is pre vented. After an operation of the trip mechanism the treadle lever and the slide rod 33 are raised to normal position by 55 means of a handle 66 fixed to the block 32 on the slide rod and the impression cylinder is restored to printing position by the-handle 15, as above described. Various modifications may be made in the embodiments of. my invention hereinbefore described and illustrated in the-drawings, within the nature of'the invention and the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

5 1. An automatic trip mechanism for printwhich it is thrown into operation, a feeler ing presses comprising, .in combination with the rotary impression cylinder of :a press, stationary throw-out mechanism for throwing out :the printing coupleof the press, said mechanism includingamovable member by located within the impression cylinder and .constr'ucted and arranged to engage the margin of a sheet carried by the cylinder, and a tripping device connected with the feeler carried by the cylinder and extending outwardly at the end of the cylinder in position to engage and move said movable member of the throw-out mechanism.

- 2. An automatic trip mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination withthe rotary impression cylinder of a press. throw-out mechanism for' throwing out the printing couple of the press, said mechanism being constructed and arranged to be actuated by thepower of the press and in timed relation to the operation of the press, a feeler carried by the impression cylinder and constructed and arranged to engage a sheet carried by the impression cylinder, and tripping means controlled by the feeler and actuated by the impression cylinder in its rotation, said means acting to render the throw-out mechanism operative when there is no sheet upon the impression cylinder. 05

An automatic tri mechanism for printingpresses comprising, in combination with a movinglmember of the printin con-j ple of a printing press, stationary throwout mechanism for throwing the press out of operation includinga movable membercontrolling the throw-out mechanism, a feeler carried by the moving member of the printing couple and constructed and arranged to engage the inner surface of a sheet carried by said member, a tripping device connected with the feeler and adapted to engage and actuate the movable member to renderthe throw-out mechanism operafive-when there is no sheet on the moving 110 member of the printing couple, and means" tending to actuate the tripping device.

4. An automatic trip mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination with the rotary" impression cylinder of a press, stationary throw-out mechanism for throwing out the printing couple of the press, said mechanism including a movable member by which it is thrown intooperation, a feeler located within' the impression cylinder and constructed and arranged to engage the margin of a sheet carried by the cylinder; and a tripping device comprising a slidable member connected with the mov- -able member, a trip connected with the 1 5- feeler and adapted toengage and actuate the slidable member when the feeler moves outwardly in the absence ofa sheet, and means tending to cause the trip to actuate the movable membrof the press. I tgg 6. An automatic trip mechanism for ,prmt-mgpresses comprising in combinationthrowing 5. An automatic trip mechanism for printing presses comprising, in combination with the rotary impression cylinder of a press, stationary throw-outmechanism ior out the printing couple of the press, said mechanism being constructed and arranged to be actuated by't-he power of the press, a feeler carried by the impression cylinder and constructed and arranged to en.

width the rotary impression cylinder of a gpr'ess, stationary throw-out mechanism for sthrowing out the printing couple of. the

gPIQSS SQJd mechan being constructed and 1.. gage the inner surface of arranged to be actuated by the power of the press,a feeler CfiIIlGCl by the impression cyl ,mder and constructed and arranged to enthe impression cylinder, an actuating arm .oi the feeler, a trip connected therewith .gadapted to'engage aiid actuate the throwxwardly m'the absence of a sheet fromthe 5h impression cylinder, means tending to more member and constructed a sheetoarried. by

gout mechanism as, the feeler is moved outi ,os14,77e

the feeler out-wardly,f and a cam cooperative with the, actuating arm to permit the'feeler to move outwardlyonly when the trip is in position to engage and actuate the throw-out '40 mechanism. e

7 An automatic trip mechan sm for printing presses comprising, in' combination with the printing'couple' of a press including a movable impression member, .stationary.

throw -out mechanism constructed and arranged to move one member of the couple throw out mechanism including a movable memberby which" 1t-1s thrown into operation, a feeler carried by the impress on engage the inner surface of a sheet carried by the impression member, an actuating arm connected to,the feeler, means cooperating with the actuating arm tending to move the feeler outwardly, a trip actuated by the 'ac-' tuating arm and adapted to engage and actuate the movable member of-the throwout mechanism as the feeler is moved 'ontwardly, and a cam cooperative with the ac-- tu ting arm and arranged to permit thev tr p to actuate the movable member of the throw-out mechanism intimed relation to the operationof thepress.

In testimony whereofi I have. afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l-Vitnesses I A. \V. HUDSON, From S. BAY.

away from the complementary member, said and arranged to ALBERT J. FORD. T i 

